Patch and the Search for Santa Paws
by PerkyGoth14
Summary: Scruffy and Dot start to doubt that Santa Paws exists when a bully ruins their holiday spirit. They then go to their parents and their father tells them about the time when he felt the same way before he met Santa Paws himself for the first time, and they must go on an adventure together when they visit New York with Santa Claus himself to help out orphans in need.
1. Chapter 1

One cold, December day, it seemed like a lot of kids were at play as they were on vacation from school for the winter holidays which was time to be with family and loved ones, and especially to those who had their very own pets, and where the pets were seen playing outside or at least the puppies were.

"Dot? Where'd you go?" Scruffy called out as he came to look for his sister.

Dot giggled as she blended in with the snow since she had white fur like their father.

"Dot?" Scruffy asked as he looked around for his sister before getting hit by a snowball.

Dot was soon heard giggling.

"Dot?!" Scruffy smirked to that as he came to look for his sister.

Dot giggled as she kept hiding. Scruffy smirked as he sniffed the ground on and started to follow his sister's scent. Dot kept hiding for a while and poked her head out. Scruffy seemed to be gone then.

"Scruffy? Scruffy..." Dot called out only to yelp and get pounced on by her brother.

"Ha! Gotcha!" Scruffy smirked.

"You shouldn't pounce on me!" Dot pouted. "I'm gonna tell Dad!"

"Hey, that's for the snowball!" Scruffy laughed.

"Okay, fair enough," Dot smiled. "I hope Santa Paws gets me that bow I saw at the pet store."

"Yeah..." Scruffy replied. "I'd really like a new ball to chew on myself. I'm sure Dad will put in a good word for us with the big man."

They soon heard someone laughing at them.

"Who's there?" Scruffy soon growled while Dot pouted from the laughing.

They soon saw that it was from a junkyard dog who was then smirking at them after laughing. "You two still believe in Santa Paws?"

"Well... Yeah...?" Dot replied. "Don't you?"

"Pfft!" The junkyard dog scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Santa Paws is just what Mommy and Daddy Doggies tell their pups to make 'em be good. He's not real or nuthin'."

"Y-Yes, he is." Dot frowned.

"Wow, you guys are babies!" The junkyard dog laughed. "Man, I thought you'd be cool, but you believe in Santa Paws."

"He is _too_ real!" Scruffy glared. "Our dad even met him a couple of times!"

"Oh, man, that just makes your father a liar," The junkyard dog smirked. "Wow, and to think parents taught their pups to never lie."

"Dad would never lie!" Scruffy glared.

"What of it?" The junkyard dog laughed at him.

"Stop laughing at me and my sister!" Scruffy glared, rubbing his paw against the ground like a bull, ready to charge.

"Whatever, I'm done with you lame pups anyway." The junkyard dog smirked as he left them.

Scruffy growled before coming to Dot. "You okay?"

"That guy was mean!" Dot pouted.

"Yeah, but what if he's right?" Scruffy asked softly.

"You don't think Santa Paws isn't real, do you, Scruffy?" Dot frowned to what her brother said.

"Well..." Scruffy frowned.

"Maybe we should hear another story from Dad." Dot said.

"Oh, but they're just stories..." Scruffy stared at the ground. "It's not like we know if they're true or not."

"But they have to be..." Dot frowned.

"Come on, let's go inside, it's getting cold out here anyway." Scruffy said.

Dot frowned as she could tell that the junkyard dog really got to her brother as they went to come inside to see their parents by the fireplace.

* * *

"So then I said 'That's no way to treat a poodle'!" Patch told Collette a joke before laughing with her as they sat by the fireplace.

Patch and Collette soon noticed their pups coming in.

"Hi, kids," Patch smiled. "You enjoying the snow."

"Yeah..." Scruffy said softly.

Patch frowned as he sensed that wasn't a pleasant tone of voice. "Okay, what's wrong?" He then asked.

"Nothing..." Scruffy said as he lay on the floor, staring into the fire.

"That's not true." Dot said.

"Dot!" Scruffy whined.

"This junkyard dog laughed us for believing in Santa Paws." Dot told their parents.

"That junkyard dog must just have not been a believer." Collette said.

"How do we even know that Santa Paws is even real?" Scruffy sulked. "They're just stories you and Dad tell us to make us behave."

"Oh, but you should know Santa Paws is real," Patch replied. "You know that he's one of my old friends."

"Yeah, but you haven't told us how you two met." Dot said.

"Oh, come now, you remember that story." Patch replied.

Scruffy and Dot just glanced over.

"Oh... I haven't told you about that?" Patch asked. "Huh... I could've sworn I did."

"Nope, you haven't." Collette said.

"I was sure I did, but... All right," Patch said. "You kids get comfortable, and I'll tell you all about it."

Dot smiled and went to get her favorite pillow while Scruffy sulked as the bully really got to him.

"Now you should know that this was also at the time when I almost thought Santa Paws wasn't real." Patch said.

"Really?" Scruffy asked.

"Oh, yes," Patch replied. "I thought it was an old dog's tale for a while myself. Everyone goes through that phase eventually."

"I remember when your Aunt Annette did, but Christmas is my mother's favorite holiday." Collette smiled.

"Because that's when she got adopted." Dot muffled with a smile, carrying her favorite pillow in her mouth, as she loved her grandparents' love story.

"So when did it start?" Scruffy asked his father, referring to the story.

"A long time ago..." Patch replied. "Long before you two were born... I was a young puppy, and it was close to the holiday season."

* * *

The story starts many years ago after Thanksgiving dinner which meant that it was time for the Christmas season for everyone.

"I love this time of year." Emily smiled.

"I do too..." Patrick smiled back to his wife. "I feel so full right now though... I think I overdid it with the stuffing."

"Well, Thanksgiving dinner is over, and that means it's time to get ready for Christmas!" Emily beamed.

"This is going to be a magical Christmas, I can just tell." Darla smiled.

"I hope you've all been good this year for Santa Claus." Emily smiled back.

"Sure, Mom." Jessica replied with a small smile.

They soon saw Patch sitting by the window with a sigh.

Atticus held his stomach as he came over to his dog. "Mm... Turkey..." he then smiled.

Patch looked over before looking back out.

"Okay, Patch, what's up?" Atticus asked his dog.

"It's nothing..." Patch frowned.

"You can tell me," Atticus frowned back to his dog. "We're family."

"I just feel like Santa Paws isn't real," Patch frowned. "I mean, he wasn't at the North Pole when we first met Santa Claus and the others."

"Oh, Patch..." Atticus replied. "I'm sure he is..."

"Maybe there's no such thing as Santa Paws..." Patch said to him.

Cherry soon came over, greeting the Fudo family, giving them some candy that her mother sent her over for along with some presents since Thanksgiving dinner was over and it was time for holiday cheer.

"Patch, we don't know that for sure." Atticus said.

"We don't know what for sure?" Cherry asked.

"Cherry," Patch said as he turned to her. "You believe in Santa Paws, right?"

"...Is that a dog thing?" Cherry glanced at him.

"He's the dog version of Santa Claus." Atticus said to her.

"Oh... Cool." Cherry replied.

"You don't believe in him, do you, Cherry?" Patch sulked then.

"Why would I?" Cherry shrugged, not seeming to notice that she hurt Patch. "I'm not a dog."

"So then he isn't..." Patch sighed.

"Wait... I didn't say that... Oh... Man..." Cherry winced a bit.

Patch frowned as he didn't believe in Santa Paws anymore.

"Thanks, Cherry." Atticus glared.

"I didn't do anything!" Cherry huffed.

Patch's dog tag began to glow.

"Uh, Spot?" Cherry called. "Your dog tag is glowing... Is that a Pound Poochie thing?"

"I think it's the Equestrian magic from it." Patch said.

"Well, I'm gonna go then, because I'm clearly not needed." Cherry said, stepping aside. Much to her own luck, the magic didn't take her along with the ride.

"Going somewhere special for the holidays?" Atticus asked.

"Mom and Dad wanna visit New York this year," Cherry replied. "Mom got a special prize from work, so that's why I'm giving you guys your presents now because I won't be home this year."

"Aw, thanks." Atticus smiled.

"Yeah, we're gonna go later on, I'll see you for New Year's, okay?" Cherry replied.

"All right, Merry Christmas, Cherry." Atticus smiled.

"Merry Christmas, Atticus." Cherry waved to him before going out the house.

"I wonder where Patch was teleported to?" Atticus soon wondered.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Meanwhile with Patch..._**

"What's going on?!" Patch yelped as he was in some sort of portal which was taken him far away from home.

"Of course, I didn't know it at the time, but I was in for a big adventure that holiday season." Patch's voice narrated.

"Ooh." The puppies voices smiled.

Patch soon yelped before landing in a huge snow pile. He then poked his body out before shaking the snow off, but didn't feel that cold as he had a sweater on that Jessica made for him from Home Ec in school. "Where am I?" Patch asked as he got out of the snow before shaking the snow off his body.

He began to wander around for a bit until he soon came up to a red and white striped sign and looked up to it to see 'WELCOME TO THE NORTH POLE'.

"The North Pole?" Patch asked. "Why did my dog tag send me here?"

"Someone needs help in the holiday spirit." A heavenly voice told Patch.

"Annabelle, is that you?" Patch asked.

A pink bubble seemed to appear and it popped to show the pink whippet angel.

"Aha, it is you." Patch smiled.

"Patch, you seem to be losing your Christmas spirit this year." Annabelle said to the young Dalmatian.

"Losing my Christmas spirit? What do you mean?" Patch frowned. "I've just stopped believing in Santa Paws."

"That's what I mean, my dear child," Annabelle replied. "You have to believe that Santa Paws is as real as you or me, so that's why I sent you back in time to find out more about the Christmas mascot for the holidays of dogs everywhere."

"Well, okay." Patch said.

"That is why you are going on this adventure to find out more about Santa Paws and where he came from." Annabelle smiled.

"Ohh... Okay." Patch said as he made his way to the workshop.

"Today is a special celebration for Santa Claus." Annabelle smiled.

"Really?" Patch smiled back before looking in through the window with her to see that there was indeed a celebration inside of the workshop as the elves seemed to be having a good time with Santa and Mrs. Claus. "What's the celebration?"

"Well, Patch, take a look around and tell me what you see." Annabelle replied.

Patch looked to her before looking in through the window and saw a cake with candles on it which only meant one thing. "It's his birthday." Patch smiled.

"Of course," Annabelle replied. "And very soon, he'll be given a very special gift from a friend of his."

"Ooh." Patch smiled.

Annabelle smiled to Patch as they began to watch the celebration for Santa Claus as he danced with his wife as the other elves watched them.

"So when should I make myself known to them?" Patch asked.

"Just watch for a bit," Annabelle suggested. "I want you to see where Santa Paws came from."

Patch looked to her as they watched the party.

"I know it looks like a fun party, I just want you to see when Santa Claus and Santa Paws meet." Annabelle said to him.

"I hope it is if you're making me sit out here in the snow." Patch rolled his eyes playfully to the archangel of Dog Heaven.

* * *

Eventually, two elves came out, a normal one wheeling a wagon over with a present and a dog elf with an envelope in his mouth. Patch soon saw Annabelle frowning and he had a feeling it had something to do with the envelope.

"Special delivery, Santa!" The elf told his boss.

"A gift for me?" Santa asked before he took the envelope from the dog and saw that it was a letter.

"Just arrived by North Pole Express." The dog elf replied.

"From the Big Apple." The other elf added.

"I'm afraid that envelope brings sad news." Annabelle frowned at Patch.

"How sad?" Patch frowned back.

Annabelle didn't say and just let him watch for himself.

" ** _'Dear Mr Claus: I regret to inform you of Mr Hucklebuckle's recent passing',_** " Santa began to read aloud, but he got slower with each word he read aloud and the elves began to look a little sad for him. " ** _'He explicitly asked me, as his trusted attorney, to write to you and thank you for your loyal friendship throughout the years'_**."

"Oh... That sad..." Patch frowned.

Annabelle nodded slowly.

"Oh, dear," Santa frowned before he continued to read the letter. " ** _'Mr. Hucklebuckle enjoyed passing on your message to the children of New York. You taught him the true meaning of Christmas spirit, and the joy of a life of service. I've sent you the birthday present from Mr. Hucklebuckle that he had hoped to give you himself. Sincerely... Mr. Stewart'_**." He soon handed the letter to one of his elves and began to unwrap the present to see what it was, and saw what looked like a stuffed animal of a white, fluffy dog.

Mrs. Claus looked over to her husband.

"Mr. Hucklebuckle was a great ambassador for the Santa Cause." Santa told his wife.

"He truly was." Annabelle frowned.

Patch gave a small frown back to the whippet angel. "So, um, that stuffed dog is supposed to be Santa Paws?" he then asked.

"Again, you shall see, young Patch." Annabelle replied.

"Um, okay, and as for the time of making myself known?" Patch asked.

"Soon enough, I'll let you see this, and then you can meet them." Annabelle said as she changed the scene a little.

Patch sighed as he hated to wait, but he had to in order to get the answers he wanted about Santa Paws.

* * *

Eventually, the Claus couple were called out by one of the elves to come into a cave that had a special icicle, and where Patch decided to follow after them to see what would happen.

"All right, Eli, what was so important?" Santa asked one of his elves.

"Well, we all know you've been feeling a little blue, sir, and I think with the help of a little Christmas magic, we could cheer you up." The elf replied as he held out the stuffed dog.

"Watch that dog, okay?" Annabelle told Patch.

"You've got it." Patch smiled.

The elf soon put a special collar around the stuffed dog's neck. After a few moments, the crystal seemed to glow with the icicle, and as if by magic, the stuffed dog was now brought to life as a living, breathing puppy dog.

"My goodness!" Santa gasped joyfully.

"Whoa." Patch smiled quietly.

"I guess he's going to need a name." Santa smiled as he knelt down to the puppy who came up to him.

"He is yours to name, dear." Mrs. Claus smiled back.

"I think I'm going to name you 'Paws'," Santa chuckled as he hugged his new pet. "You and I are gonna be best friends for all eternity!"

"Eternity?" The puppy asked. "How long is that?"

"Why, forever, young pup!" Santa smiled.

Patch smiled as that was good news. Annabelle soon seemed to disappear after Santa and Paws began to bond with each other as dog and dog owner, and eventually, after the whippet angel left, everyone soon noticed Patch which meant that it was time for him to start his adventure.

"Um, hi." Patch greeted.

"Well, hi there, little fella," Mrs. Claus said. "Where'd you come from?"

"A certain angel sent me here," Patch replied. "And the reason why is, um, well..."

"Yes...?" Mrs. Claus asked.

"Um... Well... Hmm..." Patch paused. "I guess I just need a little something to get me into the good old holiday spirit."

Santa and the others could tell Patch was a good pup and would learn his lesson by Christmastime.

* * *

Eventually, Patch began to watch as Santa and Paws bonded together. Mrs. Claus brought out some new outfits and they picked one out for Paws to wear as the elves worked in the workshop to make toys for all the good little girls and boys all over the world, and they even had some fun with the reindeer. And where Patch was happy to watch all this happen. It was a lot of fun around the North Pole before Santa would have to leave on Christmas Eve.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Santa." Patch said.

"That's all right, Patch," Santa replied. "Mr. Hucklebuckle was a good man. I just hope his grandson can carry on his legacy."

"I'm sure he will." Patch said.

"Thank you, Patch," Santa replied. "It's good to see you, even though you seem to be far from home."

"Yeah, I know, but I'm sure I'll be back home." Patch said.

"I'm sure you can help keep Paws company as a best friend whenever I'm too busy." Santa smiled.

"I'd like that, Santa." Patch smiled back.

"Oh, how sweet." Clarice smiled as she stood with Rudolph.

"And how have you two been?" Patch smiled at Clarice and Rudolph.

"Oh, you know, the usual," Rudolph smiled back. "Just being so happy together."

"And I wouldn't have it any other way, especially to be with a reindeer with such a handsome nose." Clarice beamed.

"Aw, shucks, Clarice." Rudolph blushed as his nose glowed from that.

Patch smirked playfully as he and Clarice noticed that.

"And how have you been?" Clarice asked.

"I'm fine..." Patch replied. "I just need a bit of a boost in the holiday spirit."

"You lost your Christmas spirit?" Rudolph asked.

"I, um, might have started to not believe in Santa Paws anymore." Patch frowned.

Rudolph and Clarice gasped to that.

"Oh, Patch, you _must_ have the Christmas Spirit," Rudolph replied. "It's what makes Santa's sleigh fly after all."

"I know, but the last time I visited the North Pole with Atticus, Mo, and Cherry, we didn't meet Santa Paws, and where I just assumed." Patch frowned.

"Well, now you know," Clarice replied. "You know, I hear down south where you live, some people are starting to doubt Santa's existence."

"Most likely New York." Patch said.

"Probably, but it happens every year..." Clarice sighed. "It seems like Christmas Spirit goes down all the time. At least that's what my father told me."

"It's great to see you, Patch," Rudolph smiled. "I'll never forget the time when we saved Baby New Year."

"Yeah, even though it was a challenge with everyone laughing at him just for how big his ears were." Patch said.

"That was a bit sad, though I could feel his pain about being made fun of for being different." Rudolph replied.

"I know I have," Hermie said as he walked by. "Hello there, Patch."

"Hi, Hermie!" Patch smiled to the dentist elf.

Hermie soon checked Patch's teeth.

"Yeth, I have been brushing my teeth." Patch told him as Hermie was checking his teeth.

"Just wanted to make sure," Hermie smiled. "I also hope you receive a nice gift from the Tooth Fairy should one ever fall out."

"What about the Fang Fairy?" Patch asked.

"Hmm... I can't say I've heard of the Fang Fairy, but maybe you could get a gift from him or her in that case." Hermie replied.

"The Fang Fairy is like the Tooth Fairy, but only for pups." Patch said.

"So I see," Hermie replied. "So in that case, good luck for the Fang Fairy."


	3. Chapter 3

"Is there a Fang Fairy, Daddy?" Dot's voice asked.

"One story at a time, Dotty." Patch's voice chuckled.

"So what happened next?" Scruffy's voice asked.

"Well, Paws and I had fun with Santa around the North Pole, but one day came that would be a bit different." Patch's voice narrated.

* * *

Santa was getting his sleigh ready with Mrs. Claus as Paws sat in the sleigh and other elves watched the couple.

"Okay, sir, I prepped the reindeer for a landing in Central Park." Eli smiled.

"Ever since Mr. Hucklebuckle's passing, Christmas spirit has been out of whack in New York." Eddy added.

"So that means New York will be in need of a store Santa." Patch said as he came on the sleigh.

"My thoughts exactly, Patch." Eddy nodded.

"You go be careful down there, and stick together." Mrs. Claus told her husband.

"I'll watch out for Santa," Paws smiled. "That's what best friends are for!"

"And I'll make sure they stick together." Patch said.

"Don't you worry, my darling, we'll be fine," Santa smiled to his wife. "We'll visit some ambassadors for the Santa Cause, talk to the children, and be back in a Christmas minute."

"Oh! I packed you a bag." Mrs. Claus said, handing him a bag.

"Oh, thank you." Santa replied as he accepted the bag, coming onto the sleigh.

"Your suit, hat, gloves, and some of my sugarplum pie," Mrs. Claus said to him. "And you seem to have forgotten your North Pole pin," she then giggled as she put the pin on his coat. "I love you."

Patch had a feeling this would possibly be more than just a simple visit. The elves said goodbye and wished them luck as they went to leave the North Pole.

"Let's go, guys!" Rudolph told the other reindeer as they soon got ready to fly out.

 _'I have a feeling I'll learn about the spirit of Christmas during this visit at New York.'_ Patch thought to himself.

Santa called out to his reindeer as they flew out of the North Pole and straight into New York City.

* * *

They soon landed in Central Park as it was night time in New York City that night.

"Okay, fellas, you get some rest." Santa smiled to his reindeer.

"Yeah, you deserve it." Patch added.

"We'll be here waiting for you, Santa." Comet said.

"Yes, come on, Paws," Santa said as he helped his dog down from the sleigh. "Come along too, Patch."

"Coming." Patch smiled.

They soon went to explore as the reindeer decided to get some rest.

* * *

A homeless man looked over as they walked up a hill while he sat on a bench to sleep on, and seemed to sneak up behind them.

"Christmas in New York always looks amazing on TV," Patch commented. "And why do I have this feeling like someone's sneaking up behind us?"

"Oh, Patch, way to make me more nervous than I already am." Paws replied.

They soon walked into the city which was a spectacular sight for sure.

"Ah, I love the energy of New York City!" Santa beamed. "There's nothing like it."

"Wow, this is way huger than the workshop." Paws added.

"Well, it is called a city for a reason." Patch smiled.

"Now, Paws, New York City is a great big place with a lot of people, and only those who believe in the magic of Christmas can understand North Pole animals like you," Santa warned his dog. "So you need to be very careful."

A woman soon rushed by, running into them. "What the heck?!" she then glared. "Watch where you're going, you old geezer!"

"You watch where you're running, lady!" Patch barked.

Paws pouted as the woman upset him a little before barking with Patch.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am. Here, let me help you with these," Santa smiled softly to the woman, even if she wasn't very nice. "Just arrived in the big city."

"Stop your dogs from yapping," The woman complained. "Shouldn't they be on a leash?"

"Yapping?" Patch asked, looking confused.

"Not everyone has the Christmas spirit, boys." Santa told the dogs.

"She's not very jolly." Paws commented.

"Why don't you mind your own beeswax, buster?" The woman huffed before storming off.

"Wow." Patch said.

"Merry Christmas!" Santa called out to the woman, regardless of her behavior.

"Uh-oh." Patch said as he saw something in the middle of the road.

"Oh! Madam, your hat!" Santa called out.

"Don't worry, I'll get it." Paws said before going to retrieve the hat.

Patch soon saw a vehicle coming.

"PAWS, NO!" Santa yelped as he came after his dog in front of the incoming taxi cab. "No! STOP!"

The taxi cab soon swerved which hit Santa and made him fall to the ground as Paws picked up the hat.

"Santa!" Patch panicked before he soon hurried to Santa's side.

"Oh, no! Santa's hurt! Somebody help!" Paws cried out until he saw a very short man walking down the street and he ran towards him. "Oh, Mr. Elf! Mr. Elf, I need your assistance! Santa's really hurt!"

"Paws, wait!" Patch called out as he ran after him.

Paws came up to the short man who was actually a human, but was just very short. The cab driver began to freak out while Santa laid by his cab, but someone soon came to help out. The short guy glanced over as he saw that the two dogs were following him.

"Paws, wait, that's not an elf." Patch told him.

"He _has_ to be an elf!" Paws replied as he followed the short man into the subway.

"Daddy, did Santa died like in the Santa Clause movie with Tim Allen?" Dot's voice asked.

"No, Dot, Santa didn't die," Patch's voice replied. "He was actually fine, luckily he got help when he needed it, but I was mostly concerned about helping Santa Paws around his first time in the city. Reminds me of the Santa Pups when they were very young, and I looked after them before they met the Air Buddies."

"So, then if Santa was fine; why didn't he try to find you two?" Scruffy's voice asked.

"I'll get to that," Patch's voice replied. "I guess you could say Santa Claus got run over by a taxi cab like Grandma getting run over by a reindeer... The song of course! I mean, both of your grandmothers are fine."

* * *

"Get away from me, you mutts!" The man cried out as he saw Paws and Patch near him.

"See, Paws? He isn't an elf," Patch said. "And since he doesn't have the Christmas spirit, he can't understand us."

"Oh..." Paws replied. "I didn't know humans could look like that."

"It's a common misconception, I'm not mad, but that guy might be," Patch soothed. "We better get back to Santa."

"Yeah, but, um, which way is it back to Santa?" Paws asked.

"Come on, Paws, I better get you out of here." Patch replied.

They soon came out of the subway to go and find Santa only to end up on a different street.

"Santa shouldn't be too far away from here." Patch told Paws before looking around.

It seemed like they were now lost in New York as Santa seemed to be gone now, although they would meet up with him sometime later.

"That must've been scary," Scruffy's voice commented. "Being lost in New York like the second Home Alone movie."

"It sure was." Patch's voice said.

The two wandered around as they were trying to look for Santa who had seemed to have disappeared on them while they went to the subway.

"It's not like Santa to disappear like this." Patch commented.

"I hope he's alright." Paws frowned.

"Me too, Paws..." Patch agreed.

The two dogs seemed to be wandering for a very long time until they both started to get tired and it was late at night in New York.

"I hate to sleep outside, but we might have to just for tonight." Patch said with a yawn.

"Seems that way." Paws replied the same way.

"Come on, Paws, let's go find somewhere to stay for the night." Patch suggested.

"Okay." Paws said.

Patch and Paws went to an alley and found a box to stay in for the night to keep warm as it had to do just for tonight since they couldn't find Santa anywhere, and where they would have to look for him in the morning.

"Good night, Patch, I hope that Santa's okay." Paws said.

"Night, Paws, I hope so too." Patch nodded before curling up with him to get some sleep.

The two dogs were soon fast asleep. Despite being in a box, their friendship kept them warm that night as they slept, hoping they would find Santa Claus again very soon.

* * *

Scruffy and Dot looked concerned as they heard part of the story which seemed to be pretty sad so far for a Christmas story.

"Should I continue?" Patch asked.

"Go ahead... That just sounds so sad for you and Santa Paws, Daddy." Dot replied.

"It was, but our night was nothing compared to the orphans' nights at their orphanage." Patch said.

"Was it really that bad?" Scruffy asked.

"You've heard of Little Orphan Annie, right?" Patch replied to them.

"Yikes, that bad?" Dot asked.

"The woman in charge of the girls called them brats and didn't let them have anything that they've had since they were babies and their orphanage wasn't decorated for the holiday and they didn't have any good meals or wonderful dresses or nightgowns," Patch said. "Plus she would usually use the money for herself."

"That's horrible!" Scruffy frowned.

"Oh, yes," Patch nodded. "It was really a hard knock life for them, especially for the oldest girl, Willamehna, or Will for short."

"Let me guess, she lost her Christmas spirit while the rest of the girls still had theirs?" Dot guessed.

"Pretty much, yes," Patch replied. "I'm not sure who was worse back in that time, Ms. Stout or Cruge, the dog-catcher back in Fernfield when the Buddies met the Santa Pups."

"I think Ms. Stout would have to be the winner in the evil department," Dot said. "I can already tell she didn't have any good in her."

Patch nodded as he got back into the story. "So, the next morning came..." he then began. "We saw a band of other dogs who reminded me of your Aunt Angel when she and Mo lived in the junkyard before meeting Atticus and your Uncle Scamp."

* * *

Patch and Paws eventually woke up and came out of the alley as a group of dogs appeared to be causing trouble.

"Those dogs must be strays." Patch said.

The fluffy white dog soon peed on a woman as she carried her own dog and dropped her bag. "Oh, disgusting, you filthy little-! Oh, let's go!" she then told her dog from disgust.

Two other dogs then came out of the butcher shop and the butcher chased them out in a fury as they ran out with food. "Get outta here, you mongrels!"

"They must be strays if those two had to run off with that food." Patch said.

"What's a stray?" Paws asked.

"An animal without a home." Patch explained.

"Do you think maybe those dogs have seen Santa?" Paws suggested.

"Possibly." Patch said.

Paws soon ran after the dogs.

"Hey, wait up!" Patch called out as he went after Paws.

The butcher soon lost the dogs as they went into the alley to eat the food they found until Patch and Paws soon came over.

"Hey." Patch smiled.

The stray dogs soon looked over.

"Hey, that wasn't very nice of you guys." Paws scolded.

"Go sniff a hydrant, meddler!" The bulldog glared.

"Yeah, laddie, who invited you to the party?" The Scottish Terrier added.

"We just want to know if you've seen Santa Claus." Patch said.

"Yeah, mon, we saw him with the Tooth Fairy." The black dog chuckled in a Jamaican accent.

"Listen, laddies, just because we're street dogs doesn't mean we're daft," The Scottish Terrier glared. "Yer clearly two of those uptown dogs with those gaudy collars!"

"What?" Patch asked.

"State your business before I bite ya like a chew toy!" The bulldog threatened.

"We told you, we need help finding Santa Claus." Paws replied.

"You expect us to believe you know the man himself?" The black dog scoffed.

"What's in it for us, pals?" The Scottish Terrier added.

"Well, we can help get you three off the naughty list." Patch said.

The stray dogs just laughed at them.

A man soon came up behind them and threw a net down on them and grabbed a hold of Paws. "Aha! Gotcha!"

Paws's magic crystal soon let him go, and he began to run off.

"Wait for me!" Patch called out as he rushed off after him.

The dog-catcher felt curious, but shrugged it off for now as he had a job to do right now as he took the stray dogs away. Patch and Paws then came out as the man began to leave who now cried out for help, and as they left, two young girls appeared to be running.

"What was with those two?" Patch asked.

"They must be anxious to get home in time for Christmas." Paws guessed.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Patch replied.

"Those were two of the orphan girls, right?" Dot's voice asked.

"Yes, they were," Patch's voice replied. "Oh, how I wish I could've helped them, especially since Will lost all hope after never getting adopted as the oldest girl in Ms. Stout's place."

"So, what about those three stray dogs?" Scruffy's voice asked.

"Kids, I know this might be hard to live with sometimes, but Cherry once told me that sometimes you have to be nice to people even if they don't exactly return the favor, so Paws and I decided to help the stray dogs." Patch's voice replied.

"So how did you help them?" Dot's voice asked.

"Well..." Patch's voice replied.

"Okay, Paws, I think I know what we can do to help the stray dogs." Patch told his new friend.

"I'm listening." Paws smiled.

"We're gonna distract that dog-catcher, and use Christmas magic to free the strays while he's distracted." Patch replied.

"That sounds perfect." Paws smiled.

"Come on then, let's go," Patch replied. "My friend Angel taught me some tricks about messing with a dog-catcher."

"Then let's get started." Paws said.

Patch soon took a deep breath and barked like a crazy dog around the dog-catcher.

* * *

"Hey! You, get outta here!" The dog-catcher glared, trying to grab him.

Patch soon got out of his reach. The dog-catcher tried to get him, but it seemed to be hopeless. Patch then jumped up and took the dog-catcher's hat off his head, wagging his tail, looking like his father taking Roger's hat off to get him to take him for a walk in the park to eventually meet his future mother.

"You naughty little-" The dog-catcher glared and began to chase after Patch.

"Haw haw!" Patch muffled.

The dog-catcher soon chased after Patch as the young Dalmatian ran down the street.

Paws soon came up to the stray dogs and his magic crystal activated the magic which set them all free. "Come on, guys, quick!" he then told them.

"Let's run like da wind, mon!" The black dog said before escaping with the other dogs.

Patch was soon seen coming back as he let the hat go.

"Patch, over here!" Paws called out.

Patch ran to him as they all ran off after the stray dogs were freed from the dog-catcher. The dog-catcher was soon seen exhausted as Patch was faster than he thought.


	4. Chapter 4

"Dat was amazing!" The black dog gasped as they were back in the alley. "You really are Santa Claus's dog, mon!"

"And that means we really are on the naughty list!" The bulldog added.

"Oh, yes, T-Money, multiple infractions." Paws told him.

"Yep." Patch nodded.

"You did us a solid, mon," The black dog said to Patch and Paws. "You be cool with us."

"Now we're your peeps," The bulldog added. "We'll keep an eye out for Santa. Fo' real."

"Thanks, guys." Paws smiled to that.

"Yeah, dawgs, thanks." Patch added.

"I hate to interrupt, but we've got to get away from the dog-catcher." The Scottish Terrier told his friends.

"You go hide, guys," The bulldog told Patch and Paws. "We got him covered."

Patch and Paws soon went and hid.

The dog-catcher soon came back and panted before the stray dogs barked at him. "There you are!" he then smirked.

The three stray dogs soon ran off for another chase.

"Argh!" The dog-catcher groaned before going after them next.

"How are we ever gonna find Santa?" Paws frowned to Patch.

"I'm sure we'll find him somehow." Patch said.

"I just hope Rudolph and the other reindeer are okay." Patch said to Paws as they hid away.

"Me too." Paws agreed.

* * *

They soon began to look for Santa which took them hours. Before they knew it, it was night time.

"Help! Help!" Paws and Patch called out.

"Has anybody seen Santa?" Paws frowned. "Help! Santa? Where are you? Can anybody hear me?"

"Please, can anybody hear us?!" Patch called out.

A little girl opened her window and soon came out to see the dogs.

"Hey, have you seen Santa Claus?" Paws asked the little girl.

"You're a dog!" The girl gasped before running to the fire escape to come down and see him. She then ran up to him and Patch. "I've never met a dog that talks before. Where did you come from?"

"I came from the North Pole," Paws replied. "My name's Paws."

"And I'm Patch; we're looking for Santa, we kinda got separated, and we can't seem to find him." Patch said.

"I'm Quinn," The little girl said. "So you guys know Santa Claus?"

"Yes, he's my best friend, but I can't find him, and I'm supposed to be taking care of him." Paws told her.

"Wow! He sure is quick at granting wishes." Quinn commented.

 _'Quick at granting wishes?'_ Patch thought to himself.

"I have to go," Quinn soon frowned. "If I get caught out here, I'll have to go to the basement."

"Can we come with you?" Paws asked. "We're really lost."

"The lady here is mean, so we have to hide you real good," Quinn told them before letting them come inside her new home. "Come on! Come on, guys!"

The two pups soon hurried into the building. They came inside and it was a bit warmer inside than it was outside.

"Shh..." Quinn reminded them to be quiet.

Patch nodded as he knew they would be quiet.

Quinn soon opened a closet which had cleaning supplies inside, and she flicked on the light. "We can sleep here tonight, and I can help you look for Santa tomorrow," she then told them before turning out the light again. "Good night, Patch and Paws."

"Good night, Quinn." Patch and Paws smiled back.

* * *

The next day soon came. Quinn smiled to the dogs as she sat up beside them.

"This place could use some Christmas cheer." Paws suggested before using his magic crystal.

And where soon, Christmas decorations were shown all around them.

"Much better." Patch smiled.

"Guys! Oh, wow!" Quinn beamed and laughed happily.

"More of this place should have decorations." Patch smiled.

Someone soon opened the door and it was an older girl. "Quinn!" she then whispered loudly as she came inside before looking around. "What are you doing in here?! Where'd these Christmas decorations come from?!" she then looked to see the two dogs. "Where'd you find those puppies?"

"I didn't find them, they found me," Quinn told her. "They came from the North Pole on Santa's sleigh. Guys, this is Will."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Patch smiled at Will.

"Shh!" Will told him. "Quinn, those dogs can't bark in here! Do you have any idea how much trouble we'll get in?!"

"But they're not barking, they're talking." Quinn replied.

"Quinn, dogs don't talk." Will sighed to the younger girl.

"She can't understand us, Quinn; she doesn't have the Christmas spirit." Patch told her.

"Shh!" Will hissed which made Paws whimper.

"We need to help them, Will," Quinn pouted. "We need to show him the way to Santa. We know where he is."

"Quinn, l told you that Santa in the store is not real." Will replied firmly.

"Wait a minute, did she say that there was a Santa in a store?" Patch smiled at Paws.

"We have to see him!" Paws replied.

"Quinn, can you take us to the store where you met the store Santa?" Patch smiled at the girl next to them.

"Well, I can try." Quinn smiled back.

Will groaned as she couldn't hear Patch or Paws talking. She just heard crude barking.

* * *

It took some time to wait for Quinn.

"It took quite a while, so you can imagine." Patch's voice narrated.

"Mm..." Dot replied thoughtfully.

Scruffy also nodded as he was starting to believe in Santa Paws again.

* * *

Quinn, Patch, and Paws looked out the window as the rude blonde woman that the two dogs saw earlier with Santa Claus was now getting ready to go out to her car.

"That was the lady from before." Patch whispered.

"Ms. Stout is going out," Quinn told the dogs. "We've got two hours."

"That should be more than enough time to get to the store." Patch said.

Once Ms. Stout left, they began to sneak out to go to the toy store to see Santa, and where it took them a few minutes to get there. When they got there, there were a bunch of kids waiting in line to meet Santa Claus.

"This is the place Santa is selling toys." Quinn told the dogs.

"Okay, I'll be right back." Paws smiled before going inside the toy store.

"I'm going in too." Patch said.

Quinn smiled as she waited outside for the dogs.

* * *

A little boy began to whine and struggle as he sat on Santa's lap as the dogs came inside.

"Okay, you're done, thank you for coming." The Santa muttered before putting the little boy off of his lap.

Patch was unconvinced before he began to sniff around for Santa's scent. Paws had a feeling that wasn't the Santa he knew, but he wasn't too sure.

"That Santa's like from that Bad Santa movie Cherry watches every year." Patch said to Paws as they left the toy store.

Quinn looked surprised to see them back so soon.

"That's not the real Santa, but thank you for your help, Quinn." Patch said to the little girl.

"Patch is right." Paws said.

They soon walked off from the toy store.

"Will was right?" Quinn frowned.

* * *

"We soon started to make our way back to the orphanage." Patch's voice narrated.

Scruffy and Dot felt bad once they were told the Santa they found wasn't the real one.

"Unknown to us, the real Santa was there, but he was just resting because someone had stolen his magic crystal which was a really bad thing." Patch told them.

"Someone stole Santa's crystal?" Scruffy gasped before glaring. "Ooh, I bet he's on the naughty list for life now!"

"Probably." Collette replied.

"And without his magic crystal, Santa would have died." Patch told them.

Scruffy and Dot gasped at the idea of Santa Claus dying.

"But of course the person that took his magic crystal didn't know that without the magic crystal, Santa's life would start depleting." Patch said.

"So what happened next?" Scruffy asked.

"Well, the only thing we could do was bring Quinn back to her new home." Patch replied.

* * *

Patch, Paws, and Quinn were soon seen heading back to the orphan home.

"I'm sorry that wasn't the real Santa." Quinn frowned to the dogs.

"It's okay, we'll find him." Patch smiled.

A girl was soon seen by the window as she saw Quinn outside before she rushed out. "Quinn, you got puppies?" she then asked.

"Shh!" Quinn shushed her.

"Come on!" The girl whispered loudly to bring her inside.

Quinn, Patch, and Paws soon came into the building with the girl.

"Are they yours?" The girl asked Quinn.

"It's a bit of a long story." Quinn replied.

Patch nodded as it was a long story about how she met him and Paws.

"That was Janie," Quinn told Patch and Paws. "She's one of my new friends along with Mary, Meg, and Will."

* * *

Soon enough, they were in the girls' bedroom while Ms. Stout was fast asleep as she was snoring.

"The white one's name is Paws and the one with spots is named Patch." Quinn told the girls.

"Where'd they come from?" Mary asked.

"I'm Santa Claus's best friend from the North Pole." Paws smiled.

"He just talked!" Janie gasped.

"He's not the only one that can talk." Patch smiled.

"They both just talked!" Janie gasped again.

"Shh!" Will urged the dogs as she just heard barking. "Don't tell me you guys are imagining things though." she then begged the other orphans.

"Only kids who truly believe in the spirit of Christmas will hear Paws talk." Patch told the girls.

"Shh!" Will glared at the dogs since they were barking.

"How can you not hear him?" Mary asked Will.

"Are your ears working properly?" Janie asked.

"He's talking right to you!" Taylor piped up.

"You gotta believe, Will, just listen!" Quinn added.

Janie soon went onto a cot before taking out a plunger like a microphone. "Whenever I hear a Christmas song I wanna get up and sing~" she then began to sing.

"When there's love, I sing along and find some bells to ring~" Meg sang as she used to handheld brushes as bells.

Will just looked at the other girls like they had lost their minds.

"Wherever there's angels up above~" Quinn sang.

"Wherever there's Christmas trees~" Mary sang as she rolled on her cot.

"There's gonna be peace and hope and love and wonderful memories~," The girls all sang together, except for Will. "There'll be laughter there'll be song we'll o caroling all night long~"

"Believing in Christmas makes it magic, can't you see?~" Patch and Paws sang.

"Guys, if you don't quiet those puppies Ms. Stout is going to hear them barking." Will told the girls.

"You don't hear Paws talking?" Quinn, Mary, Meg, and Janie asked her.

"Don't you remember Ms. Stout's rules about singing?" Will crossed her arms, sitting firmly on her own cot.

"It's better to give than receive~" Quinn sang.

"Blessings for you and me~" Janie and Mary sang.

"Staying up late on Christmas Eve~" Meg and Taylor sang.

"Will there be presents for me?" Will asked.

"No, you're not listening, Will." Paws and Patch said.

"There'll be laughter, there'll be song, we'll O caroling all night long~" Quinn, Mary, Meg, and Janie sang to Will.

"Believing in Christmas makes it magic, can't you see?~" Patch and Paws added.

The girls soon got up and started to dance happily while Will just looked confused.

"I do believe in Christmas, I believe in love, As sure as there is Santa ringing sleigh bells up above~" The girls all sang in excitement. "We do believe in harmony and family and good cheer, Throughout the year~"

The girls soon began to dance and two of them got their beds with feather dusters while the other two got themselves brooms.

"Whenever there's hope in the air~" Quinn sang as she waved her feather duster into the air.

"Whenever we light the tree, Whenever there's love in our prayers, That's Christmas time for me~" The other girls sang with their own feather-dusters or brooms before Paws's magic crystal poofed their chore tools into colorful designs into horse stick toys.

Janie soon threw a pillow at one of the girls and they all got into a pillow fight.

"Whenever I hear a Christmas song, I wanna get up and sing, Whenever there's love I sing along and find some bells to ring~," The girls continued to sing while Paws used his magic to make the cots and pillows more colorful and gave the girls new dresses to wear, even Will. "There'll be laughter there'll be song, we'll go caroling all night long, Believing in Christmas makes it magic can't you see, For you and me~"

Will soon went up to Quinn and got her down from her cot and they began to dance with the other girls.

"I do believe in Christmas, I believe in love, As sure as there is Santa ringing sleigh bells up above, We do believe in harmony and

family and good cheer, Throughout the year, (Throughout the year)~" The girls sang as there was soon a Christmas tree in their room all decorated and glowing. "I do believe in Christmas, I believe in love, As sure as there is Santa ringing sleigh bells up above, We do believe in harmony and family and good cheer, (Good cheer), We do believe in Christmas, Throughout the year~"

* * *

"We do believe in Christmas throughout the year~" Patch then sang like Twilight after singing a Hearth's Warming song from her favorite storybook. He soon saw his pups smirking playfully. "What?" Patch asked.

"You know you're doing a little girl voice, right?" Scruffy replied.

"I was not!" Patch smiled bashfully to his pups while Collette giggled to him.

"So what happened next?" Dot asked.

"Unfortunately, the very sweet moment got spoiled..." Patch sighed.

* * *

Ms. Stout soon busted into the room which worried the girls. " **WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?!** " she then snarled.

The girls then stood up nervously from Will's cot and Patch and Paws looked over to the woman.

"Willamehna, who brought these puppies in here?!" Ms. Stout demanded.

"It was me out; I found Paws and Patch." Quinn admitted.

"Nice try, Quinn, but I don't believe you!" Ms. Stout glared at the little girl. "Don't think I don't know who the leader of this circus is! **WILLAMEHNA! COME WITH ME!** "

Will soon walked over as the two dogs stared at Ms. Stout.

"That's a pretty gem..." Ms. Stout said as she soon grabbed a hold of Paws's magic crystal.

"Hey, let that go!" Patch barked as he bit her hand.

"Yow!" Ms. Stout yelped. "Why, you little-"

Patch growled as he kept the magic crystal away from her and the girls gasped out of fright once they saw that he had bitten her.

"Give me that crystal or so help me, I will be sure that the pound puts you two to sleep!" Ms, Stout threatened.

Patch glared, but feared the worst.

* * *

"You hate naps too, Dad?" Scruffy's voice asked.

"Uh... Well, son... Being put to sleep is a little more severe than 45 minutes of sleep after lunch." Patch's voice said nervously.

"When someone says being put to sleep, it, um, means when some is, um, asleep for a long time and never wakes up." Collette's voice added.

"Oh..." Scruffy's voice replied before realizing in horror. "Ohh!"

* * *

Ms. Stout held out her hand. Patch really didn't want to give up the crystal, but he soon did as he didn't want himself or Paws to die.

Ms. Stout soon put the crystal in her pocket, and took the dogs out of the room. "And the rest of you, clean up this mess, and take off those ridiculous dresses, NOW!" she then demanded on her way out.

The girls frowned as they began to do as they were told as the woman stormed out. Will, Patch, and Paws were soon taken down to the very bottom floor of the orphanage.

"Well, I hope you enjoy each other's company down here in the pitch black," Ms. Stout said as she set down the puppies as Will sat down on the cold floor. "Tomorrow, the mutts go to the pound."

Will didn't say anything, but she looked a bit sad right now. Ms. Stout soon went back upstairs.

"She sure is heartless." Patch whispered to Paws.

Paws nodded to Patch as this was depressing, and so close to Christmas too.

Will looked miserable as she began to sing her own song. "Why don't I believe in happiness and dreams? And where do I belong? Where did it go wrong? Who will come and rescue me!~" she then began to sing out of sadness before she broke down crying.

"Don't give up, Will, all you have to do is believe." Paws told her.

Will soon looked at Paws as she could finally understand him.

"Everything's going to be okay." Patch smiled.

"I _can_ understand you, Paws and Patch!" Will soon smiled back.

"You do believe in Christmas after all!" Paws beamed to that.

"I do believe in Christmas~" Will sang as she hugged the dogs. "I do believe in love~"

"As long as there is Santa ringing sleigh bells up above~" Patch and Paws sang.

"We do believe in harmony, In family, And good cheer, Throughout the year~" They all sang together as it made the situation a little bit better.


	5. Chapter 5

"Aw, I'm happy that Will finally believed in Christmas again." Dot's voice smiled.

"Yeah, but the next morning wasn't a happy one." Patch's voice said.

"Oh, no..." Scruffy and Dot frowned.

"Oh, yes." Patch frowned back in understanding.

* * *

 ** _The next day..._**

Will smiled once she woke up. "Good morning, Paws..." she said softly to the white fluffy dog before petting Patch. "Good morning, Patch."

"Morning," Patch yawned with a smile before seeing that Paws was a toy again. "Oh, no!"

"Paws... Paws?" Will called before seeing Paws was now a toy and she let out a horrified scream.

"Oh, man, I was afraid this would happen!" Patch frowned.

"What do you mean?" Will frowned back.

"You see, without Paws's magic crystal, he's back to being what he started out as: a toy from the Hucklebuckle toy store." Patch told her.

"That sounds horrible!" Will frowned.

"I know," Patch frowned back. "We lost Santa and now Paws is a toy again!"

Ms. Stout and the dog-catcher soon came downstairs as Will cried.

"What's with all the dramatics?!" Ms. Stout glared.

Will couldn't say anything as she was crying while hugging poor Paws. Patch soon used the magic from his dog tag to make himself invisible only to those who were evil or didn't have the Christmas spirit anymore.

"You want me to take a stuffed toy dog to the pound?" The dog-catcher asked Ms. Stout out of confusion.

Scruffy and Dot were soon chuckling as that must've made Ms. Stout look stupid in front of the dog-catcher.

"I can't do that." The dog-catcher told Ms. Stout as the other girls came down the stairs to see Will.

And where they were surprised that Ms. Stout and the dog-catcher didn't notice Patch right in front of them. Patch had the girls shush as he put his paw to his mouth to shush them and they nodded, though they weren't sure how they could see him while Ms. Stout or the dog-catcher couldn't seem to.

"Where did the puppies go?" Ms. Stout glared. "Did you let them escape?"

"No!" Will frowned.

"You give me that dog!" Ms. Stout glared as she grabbed a hold of Paws.

Patch soon sneaked up behind Ms. Stout and hit her on the butt to make her think the dog-catcher did it. Ms. Stout's eyes widened before glancing towards the dog-catcher. The dog-catcher smiled innocently and bashfully until he got slapped suddenly which made him shake nervously. Will began to break down crying which made Quinn look very sad for her. Patch soon licked Will to try and comfort her.

Will blinked a bit before looking to Patch. "Why didn't Ms. Stout see you?" she then asked.

"Magic." Patch whispered to her.

They soon came upstairs while Patch was trying not to worry too much about the future of the North Pole with Paws's state and the case of the missing Santa Claus.

* * *

"I gotta tell you, kids, this was almost the worst Christmas ever." Patch's voice narrated.

"So, how did you find Santa and how did Paws get turned back into a puppy?" Scruffy's voice asked.

"All will be found out in due time, I promise you." Patch's voice replied.

* * *

"I don't know what happened!" Will cried to the younger girls. "I woke up, and all that was there was Patch and a stuffed dog!"

"It's because of the magic crystal, Will, it's not your fault," Patch told the girl. "It's all Ms. Stout's fault."

"I just hope she doesn't take Paws to the incinerator since he's a toy then." Will sniffled.

"Wait, that's where she puts your toys?!" Patch panicked.

The girls sadly nodded as it always hurt them.

"She even tries to get the angel ornament my mommy gave me before she... She..." Quinn was about to add until she looked too sad to finish that sentence.

"Okay, this woman is without a doubt heartless," Patch said. "How did she get put in charge of this place?"

"She's always been in charge..." Will sighed. "Trust me, I should know. I've been here longer than anyone else has."

Patch soon nuzzled up to Will. Will held onto him as she felt heartbroken.

"I have to help Paws!" Patch frowned. "Christmas is gonna be ruined without him _and_ Santa!"

"But if we try to rescue him while Ms. Stout is here, she'll make us sleep in the basement." Janie said.

"Then I'll help Paws," Patch volunteered bravely. "I have to. The fate of Christmas rests in my hands... Erm... In my paws."

"Luckily Ms. Stout was leaving that night with the dog-catcher, even if she thought that he had hit her butt." Patch's voice narrated.

Patch soon rushed out of the room to go and help Paws. Quinn decided to go after him despite Ms. Stout's rules since it was the right thing and friendship was more important than anything else right now. And where Ms. Stout and her date were out.

* * *

Quinn came down to the basement.

"Quinn, you made it!" Patch gasped to the little girl.

"Let's help Paws." Quinn said to him.

Patch nodded in agreement before they heard someone knocking at the front door. He looked torn on what to do as Quinn crawled into the incinerator which was dangerous, especially for her young age. "Quinn, wait, it's dangerous in there." Patch told her.

"I have to help Paws though!" Quinn told him.

Patch began to look from Quinn before looking upstairs, thinking he should tell the rest of the girls. Quinn crawled inside.

"Oh, Annabelle, I don't know if you watch over little girls, but please keep Quinn safe." Patch prayed before running up the stairs.

On the ground floor of the orphanage, there appeared to be two elves dressed as taxi cab drivers who were actually just Eli and Eddy.

"Guys!" Patch gasped to the elves.

"Oh, Patch, thank goodness!" Eddy said once he saw the young Dalmatian.

"What are you two are doing here?" Patch asked.

"We're here to rescue you, Paws, Santa, and the reindeer." Eli replied.

"We don't know where Santa is, and as for Paws, um, well..." Patch said before explaining the situation Paws was in along with Quinn.

The other girls soon panicked about Quinn's situation.

"You said you saw Santa?" Patch asked the elves.

"Yes, we found him and the reindeer, but they needed food." Eli replied.

"Well, where is he?" Patch asked.

"He's probably with the reindeer still," Eli said. "Santa's lost his magic crystal, and we need to get him and Paws back to the North Pole very soon!"

"One of us will have to get Paws's crystal back from Ms. Stout while the rest of us save Quinn and Paws from being incinerated." Patch said.

"Let me check something." Will said before she rushed off suddenly, and found herself inside of Ms. Stout's room.

Patch decided to go and help Quinn. Quinn kept trying to reach out without getting herself hurt or burnt from the flames. And which was hard as the incinerator was still on. She was soon heard screaming.

"I'm coming, Quinn!" Patch called out as he came to help the little girl.

Will eventually found the crystal, and the others came downstairs as Patch soon came into the incinerator after Quinn to help her, and where he wasn't going to let either her or Paws fall into the fire.

"Turn the power off!" Eli cried out.

One of the girls pushed a button which turned off the machine and Paws was inches away from the edge and close to falling into the fire. Paws nearly fell off until Quinn grabbed onto one of his legs and Patch pulled her back, pulling on her with his teeth on the end of her gown. Soon enough, they were out of the incinerator.

"Come on, Quinn," Will soothed the young girl. "Get out."

Eli checked Paws before smiling. "There's still a life force in him." he said before putting the magic crystal on the dog, but nothing seemed to happen.

"Please work, please work, please work." Patch whispered.

Everyone watched as it seemed like it wasn't working. Eventually, Paws's eyes lit up with the magic crystal and he was soon brought back to life.

"It's really good to see ya, Paws!" Eddy smiled.

"Eli! Eddy! Thank goodness you're here!" Paws smiled back to the elves.

"I'm so glad there was still some life force in you." Patch smiled at the white puppy.

"Me too." Paws smiled back to the Dalmatian.

"We have to find Santa," Eli said. "We have to get him his crystal back."

* * *

They soon heard someone knocking at the door and where soon they opened it to show a man and a boy. Eli soon got the door.

"Eli, Eddy, this is Jimmy, he thinks he's seen Santa Claus." The man said.

"He gave me this!" The boy said, showing a pin on his coat.

"That's Santa's pin." Patch smiled once they were shown it.

"He's at Hucklebuckle Toys!" Jimmy told them.

"We know where that is!" Quinn beamed as she stood with Will.

"Girls, get your coats." Eli told them.

Quinn and Wil soon went to get their coats on. The three stray dogs from earlier soon came down the street as they were getting ready to see Santa Claus.

"Check it out, guys! Dat's Paws and Patch!" The black dog said. "We found 'em!"

"Let's hope that they're still open." Patch said to Paws.

"I better get home." Jimmy said to Eli.

"Mission accomplished, Jimmy," Eli smiled proudly. "We'll take it from here."

"I better give you this pin back." Jimmy suggested, about to do just that.

"No, no, you keep it, Jimmy," Eli smiled. "You're an official Santa's Helper now."

Patch nodded as that was right.

"Wow! I will wear it with pride," Jimmy smiled before saluting Eli. "Thank you, Mr. Elf!"

Eli smiled back with his own salute to the boy. Jimmy soon rushed off to get going then, and the three stray dogs were seen again as they followed after the taxi cab.

* * *

The taxi cab was soon seen at the Hucklebuckle toy store. Once there, they came over to the doors and windows and knocked on them. The black-haired man soon opened the door as the blonde woman looked like she was ready to leave.

 _'Whew, we're just in time.'_ Patch thought to himself.

"We're here to save Santa Claus." Quinn piped up.

"You mean 'Bud'?" The black-haired man asked.

 _'Cherry's dad is here?'_ Patch thought to himself in confusion at first.

"Bud is Santa Claus." Will clarified.

"She is correct. Allow me to introduce myself," Eli added as he removed his hat. "I am Eli: Santa's head elf. This is Eddy the elf dog, and Paws, Santa's best friend, and Patch, an honorary guest to the North Pole for helping Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. We're all from the North Pole, except for Patch."

"It's true." Patch said.

The couple soon gasped once Patch talked.

"Santa's lost his magic crystal," Eddy informed the couple. "And his health must've been deteriorating ever since!"

"Honey, those dogs are talking." The black-haired man said to the blonde woman.

"Since you understand us, you must believe in the Christmas spirit." Patch smiled.

"You know... I didn't always," The black-haired man admitted. "You know, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you're right. He's in the hospital, and he's in critical condition."

"Oh, no!" Paws gasped.

"We have to go there now." Eli urged.

"They won't release him to us," The black-haired man shook his head. "They'll only release him to kin."

"Hmm..." Patch hummed before getting an idea.

"We have to find a way of getting Santa out of the hospital, and back to the North Pole!" Eddy panicked.

"I have an idea." Patch smiled.

"Oh, tell us, Patch." Eli smiled back.

"Yay, Daddy!" Dot's voice cheered.

"I soon began to tell them my plan which was simply have the vehicle act as an ambulance, and where then we would then get Santa in it and rush him out." Patch's voice narrated.

"So, what happened with that orphanage lady?" Scruffy's voice asked.

"Well, luckily, the social worker was called, and they were both due for an appointment with each other." Patch's voice replied.

"She got in trouble, didn't she?" Scruffy's voice smirked.

"Oh, yeah," Patch's voice replied in satisfaction. "The social worker found out the girls were left alone all night and that Will and Quinn were missing. She was then banned from the house by order of the state."

"Yes! Sweet, sweet justice." Dot's voice smiled.

"It's like Buddha says... Karma works its way around." Patch's voice replied.

* * *

Speaking of Buddha, it seemed like a group of dogs who were grown up puppies were coming over to visit during the story.

"Speak of the dog." Patch smiled.

"Don't stop the story now!" Scruffy pouted. "It was just getting good!"

"Some more proof of Santa Paws's existence." Patch smiled as they came to the backyard.

They soon came outside to see the group of grown-up puppies who came over.

"Oh, Oddball, you look so pretty like your mother." Collette smiled.

"Thanks, Aunt Collette." Oddball smiled back.

Budderball nuzzled Oddball as he was still in love with her. Scruffy and Dot soon came to Oddball happily.

"Hey, guys." Oddball smiled to her younger cousins.

"Hey, Oddball." Dot and Scruffy smiled back.

B-Dawg, Budderball, MudBud, Buddha, and Rosebud soon came to join her.

"Hey, old man." B-Dawg smiled.

"I am not old!" Patch smirked with a small chuckle.

"And we're not saying that you are." Rosebud said.

"Oh, you Buddies," Patch chuckled before smiling. "What brings you here?"

"We thought we'd pay a quick visit," MudBud replied. "Oddball and Budderball are gonna stay though, and the others will be here in a moment."

"Ah, you mean Charity, Hope, Noble, and Jingle?" Collette asked.

"Yes, but for Puppy Paws, we don't know yet, he said he would see what he could do." B-Dawg replied.

"Ooh, I can't wait!" Dot smiled.

"Hello." The grown-up Air Buddies smiled to Scruffy and Dot.

"So, you guys do know the Santa Pups which means Santa Paws is real." Scruffy commented.

"They met a non-believing bully." Collette told the Air Buddies about why Scruffy said that.

"Ohh." The Air Buddies said.

Scruffy gave a small frown.

"I guess it always happens at this age," Rosebud commented. "I guess we should've known better in our own time when we've had crazy misadventures with Patch and Collette in our time after they became our godparents."

"So, did we interrupt a story?" MudBud asked.

"We were just talking about the first time I met Santa Paws when I became an honored guest with the others for helping Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Patch replied.

"Ooh." Rosebud smiled.

"You all remember the story, right?" Patch smiled back.

"Of course!" Buddha replied. "It was quite a spiritual journey from what I remember."

"I do hope Puppy Paws can come with his brother and sisters." Collette smiled to the Buddies.

"Same here." The Air Buddies smiled back.

"How far are you in the story?" MudBud asked.

"We're about to get to getting Santa out of the hospital." Patch said.

"Ooh! Go on then, we'll listen too." Oddball beamed to her uncle.

"Yeah!" Budderball added.

"All right," Patch replied. "So, anyway, Eli and Eddy agreed that I had a great plan."

* * *

The others were soon driving off to the hospital so that they could take Santa away because they needed him to save this year's Christmas, and where they arrived at the hospital and were ready to get Santa out as soon as possible.

"Ugh... Something about a hospital late at night feels creepy." Patch groaned slightly.

"All right, we're good, come on." Will said once she saw that the coast was clear.

"And so, we made our way to Santa's hospital room." Patch's voice narrated.

They soon made it into the room and began to wheel Santa out while being quiet and careful of the other workers. Luckily, they made it out the front doors and began to take Santa to the ambulance.

"All right, just carefully put him in now." Patch told the adult men.

"We'll be careful." The black-haired man told him.

The two adult men soon lifted and brought Santa into the back.

"I should probably go with Santa while you guys go to the taxi cab." Patch suggested to the humans. He soon got into the back to go with Santa.

The humans nodded to Patch as they went to the cab.

"Oh, poor Santa." Patch frowned for the jolly old elf.

Eli soon placed Santa's magic crystal back around his neck once they were off. Eddy and Paws looked over in deep concern.

* * *

They soon pulled up to the toy store with the taxi cab, and Santa was placed in bed as he didn't wake up just yet. Patch didn't know why Santa didn't wake up yet. The humans soon came in to check on Santa.

"Is he gonna be okay?" The blonde woman frowned as Eli checked on Santa like a real doctor.

Eli frowned and shook his head.

"Is Santa going to die?" Quinn pouted.

Patch was unsure how to answer as he didn't know.

"We don't know, sweetie." The blonde woman frowned.

"But he has to make it!" Will cried before holding the black-haired man as she broke down.

"Eli, take my crystal off and place it next to Santa's." Paws suggested.

Patch was surprised as well as the others to hear Paws suggest that.

"Paws... If we do that, we might not be able to bring you back a second time." Eli said with tears in his eyes.

"And you may become a stuffed toy forever." Eddy added.

"We have no choice," Paws replied. "All the children around the world need him. Can you imagine a world without Santa Claus?"

* * *

"Paws was right, the world would be a sad place without Santa Claus," Patch's voice narrated. "But I also didn't want Paws to be a stuffed toy forever, so I thought that maybe my magic dog tag would be able to transfer its magic to Santa's magic crystal."

Scruffy and Dot felt emotional during this part of the story. Eli soon took Paws's magic crystal and placed it with Santa's.

* * *

"Can I have some time with Santa alone?" Paws asked.

Eli then nodded and gestured for the others to leave saw Paws and Santa could have some alone time. Patch frowned as he didn't want Paws to be a stuffed toy for the rest of his life, but he followed the others outside before he took his magic dog tag off and used his familiar magic to have it float right next to the crystals. Santa was still lying in bed, but he didn't seem to wake up.

"Come on, Santa, we're supposed to be best friends for all eternity!" Paws frowned.

Patch hoped his magic dog tag would be able to help.


	6. Chapter 6

Eventually, the blonde woman fell asleep with Quinn and Will in her arms, and she began to feel attached to them like she was a mother, even though the girls weren't her children.

"Thank you for all you've done." Patch said to the the three stray dogs.

"No problem, mon." The black dog smiled.

"Hey, where's your dog tag?" The bulldog asked Patch.

"I gave it to Santa and Paws," Patch replied. "I'm hoping that my own magic can help with the Christmas magic."

"Wow, that's pretty generous of ye." The Scottish Terrier smiled.

"Thanks," Patch smiled back. "You remind me of my girlfriend's Uncle Jock."

"Ah, yes, I believe I know him..." The Scottish Terrier replied as that name sounded familiar.

"Oh, what are all your names by the way?" Patch asked.

"Well, I'm Haggis." The Scottish Terrier replied.

"Da name's Rasta, mon!" The black dog added.

"And I'm T-Money." The bulldog concluded.

"Nice to know your names," Patch smiled. "My name's Patch."

"I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before." T-Money replied.

"Well, I'm one of the 101 Dalmatians." Patch replied.

This surprised the stray dogs. "No way!"

"Oh, way." Patch smiled.

"Is yer whole family magic if yer gonna give Santa Claus yer tag?" Haggis asked.

"I'm afraid, as far as I know right now anyway, I'm the only magic one in my family." Patch replied.

* * *

Soon enough, Santa began to wake up. It started to snow outside while Patch hoped he was able to help out. Eli and Eddy paced around until the door soon opened and it was opened by Santa who held Paws in his arm as he was a toy dog again.

"Santa Claus!" Eli gasped.

Patch frowned as he saw Paws a toy again and which was he hoped wouldn't happen.

"We have to get back to the North Pole at once," Santa said as he carried Paws. "Only the Great Christmas Icicle can save Paws now."

Everyone soon began to follow Santa out to the front door.

"Eli? Do we have the reindeer?" Santa asked.

"They should be here any minute, sir." Eli replied.

The reindeer and Santa's sleigh were soon shown coming down the road.

"It should be right here, you guys." Rudolph told the other reindeer.

Santa soon opened the door to see his reindeer and sleigh.

"We had a few odd loops in traffic, but hey, that's New York!" The driver said as he climbed out of the sleigh.

"We have to hurry to the North Pole." Patch said as he got on the sleigh.

"Thank goodness you're alright, Santa!" Comet smiled.

"We have to get Paws to the Great Christmas Icicle right away!" Santa replied.

"We're ready to fly, SC!" Comet said.

"Hang on, Paws, we'll be home soon," Santa said as he joined Patch in his sleigh. "All right, let's get back to the North Pole, and fast!"

They soon took off to the sky as they needed to get to the North Pole before it was too late. Everyone said goodbye to each other as it was snowing.

* * *

They soon made it to the North Pole, and wasted no time in getting to the Christmas Icicle to save Paws's life.

 _'Please, please, please work.'_ Patch thought to himself.

Mrs. Claus soon came with them to help out. Santa set Paws down on the ground, but nothing seemed to happen just yet. Eventually, the icicle glowed with Christmas magic, but still...

"Oh, goodness!" Mrs. Claus frowned.

"Why isn't it working?" Patch asked with a frown.

"I was afraid of this," Santa frowned back. "With Christmas coming so soon, the icicle just doesn't have enough magic to spare. I never thought I'd have such a friend!" he then began to tear up.

"Oh, Santa, don't cry!" Patch frowned as that was the saddest thing possible: seeing a man like Santa Claus crying.

And where a tear soon fell from Santa and it soon landed on the ground, causing something magical to happen.

"What's happening?" Mrs. Claus gasped.

The magic flowed in the air before hitting the Christmas Icicle, and the magic soon restored Paws, not only back to normal, but he was a fully grown dog now.

"Paws? Paws, you're back!" Santa gasped. "But how?!"

"It must have been your love for each other, and Christmas magic." Mrs. Claus smiled.

"I think she's right." Patch agreed.

"Santa!" Paws smiled as he came up to the jolly old saint. "What happened to me?"

"You're no longer a puppy," Santa smiled back. "From now on, your name will be Santa Paws!"

Patch smiled as he now saw how Santa Paws started.

"Now we really can be best friends for all eternity, Santa Claus." The dog smiled.

Santa soon laughed and hugged his dog as this was the start of a beautiful friendship, and would go down in history along with Rudolph. Paws soon walked up to Patch, and where he had something for him. Patch looked over.

"I believe this is yours." Paws said as he gave Patch his dog tag.

"My dog tag!" Patch smiled.

"Thank you so much for helping me out," Paws smiled. "I won't forget this."

"I'm sure I won't forget this adventure either, Paws." Patch smiled back as he accepted his dog tag.

And once after he got his dog tag back on, something magical happed as The Magic Christmas Icicle did the same thing that it did before, and where Patch's dog tag was now all crystal-like.

"Hm... That's new..." Patch smiled as he put one paw to his dog tag.

"I guess you're more than an honored guest to the North Pole now." Paws smiled to the Dalmatian.

"I guess so." Patch smiled back.

* * *

Everything was wrapping up nicely as Christmas was saved, and Mr. and Mrs. Huckle decided to adopt Quinn and Will as their daughters after the social worker Mrs. Gibson thought it would be a wonderful idea since they all got along like a real family already. The elves in the workshop celebrated as it was the most wonderful time of the year with Santa Claus back in action with Santa Paws by his side.

"We picked up all the mail that was sent to Santa from the hospital." Eli smiled as he came with Eddy with the mail truck.

Once the mail was out of the truck, there were soon three familiar dogs shown. There seemed to be another dog with them who seemed to be a female with a red ribbon in her ears.

"Boughs of holly!" Eli gasped. "What're you guys doing here?"

"We thought ye laddies might need a wee bit of help gettin' ready for Christmas." Haggis suggested.

"We wanna get off Santa's naughty list, Mister!" T-Money added.

"And we'd really like to help in any way we can." The female dog smiled.

"We would be proud to have you join us as official elves!" Eddy smiled before using his magic to get them into the Christmas spirit.

"Aw, this is a bloody outfit!" Haggis said as he wore a kilt.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" T-Money smiled as he wore a cap with bling-bling.

"We be jammin' now!" Rasta added as he wore a Jamaican hat.

"Ooh, I absolutely love Christmas!" The female dog beamed as she had bells in her ribbon and wore a pretty dress with boots, and she hopped out of the mail truck with them, her bells jingling all the way.

"Now, I don't think Paws and I saw you in New York." Patch said to the female dog.

"Well, I was a little shy to see this Paws dog up close." The female dog seemed to blush under her fur.

"It's true." T-Money said.

"What's your name?" Patch smiled.

"My name is Noelle." The female dog smiled back.

"Noelle... What a beautiful name." Paws commented.

"Oh, um, thank you." Noelle blushed.

Paws and Noelle seemed to fall in love at first sight with each other. From then on, she, Haggis, Rasta, and T-Money would live at the North Pole and help out, while Noelle seemed to become a Mrs. Paws to Paws becoming Santa Paws for the young pups of the world. Patch's dog tag soon started to glow, telling them one thing.

"Patch, I think this is going to be a Christmas to remember." Paws smiled.

"I think so too, Paws," Patch smiled back. "Well, I better get going."

"Have a safe trip." Mrs. Claus said.

"I will," Patch smiled. "Merry Christmas, everybody!"

Everyone else then wished him a Merry Christmas as he was soon sent away from the North Pole as he soon reappared back home.


	7. Chapter 7

"And that, kids, is how I met Santa Paws." Patch smiled to Scruffy and Dot.

"Wow." Dot smiled before they heard sleigh bells ringing from above them.

"That sounds amazing, Dad..." Scruffy said. "I'm sorry we ever doubted you."

"That's all right, and I think we might have a visitor." Patch smiled to his pups.

They soon saw a certain white dog family coming in for a landing. The dogs soon came outside to come and see the dog family up close.

"Oh, good!" Rosebud smiled. "I knew you guys would make it!"

"We wouldn't miss this visit." An older Noble smiled back.

"The Santa Pups!" Scruffy and Dot gasped.

"Of course, we're not pups anymore." An older Hope chuckled to them.

"That's true." Scruffy smiled.

"Hey, squirt," Hope smirked, patting him on the head. "You must be the man of the house."

"My name's Scruffy." Scruffy chuckled, looking up to her.

"And I'm Dot." Dot smiled up at the Santa dog family.

"Nice to meet you," Charity smiled back. "I hope you've both been good this year."

"I'm always good." Dot smiled innocently.

"It's true, she is, and so have I." Scruffy smiled.

* * *

The Air Buddies soon came to the fully grown Santa Pups and nuzzled with them, except for Budderball who was with Oddball.

"It's so great to see you guys." Noble smiled.

"Good to see ya too, dawgs." B-Dawg smiled back.

Dot and Scruffy soon saw Santa Paws coming up to them.

"Hey, Santa Paws." Patch smiled.

"Hey, Patch," Santa Paws smiled back. "Long time no see. Ah, it's good to see Scruffy and Dot in person this time, they're usually asleep whenever I come for a visit." he then added with a chuckle about his job as Santa Claus's helper.

"It's so nice to see you too, sir." Dot smiled.

"I understand you've been having your own trouble with Christmas Spirit." Santa Paws said.'

This made Scruffy and Dot frown.

"Yeah..." Dot pouted. "This junkyard dog made fun of us for believing in you."

"And where it kind of got to us." Scruffy frowned.

"Bullies..." Oddball sighed. "I guess no matter what happens you can't escape them."

"Like when Cousin Domino and Cousin Dipper teased you for not having spots?" Dot asked.

"Yeah," Oddball replied. "I'm just happy that I got to have Uncle Patch with me. He's the best."

"Dad sure is." Dot smiled.

Patch smiled back to them.

"Aren't _I_ cool too?" Collette smirked playfully.

"Oh, of course, Aunt Collette!" Oddball smiled. "I always felt closer to you than my own mother!"

"This is so magical." Dot smiled back.

"It's nice to see you," Jingle smiled back before singing. "It's the most wonderful time, yes, the most wonderful time, O it's the most wonderful time... Of the year!~"

"What a lovely singing voice." Dot smiled back.

"Oh, thank you, sweetie," Jingle smiled. "I've been practicing. After all, the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."

"I heard that in a movie once," Dot smiled back. "So, who's with who?" she then asked.

"Who's with who?" Hope repeated, a bit confused about that question.

"You know, who's dating who?" Dot smiled.

"Oh! Okay." Hope chuckled.

"Well, MudBud and I love having mud baths together." Charity began bashfully.

"Aw!" Dot smiled.

"And I just love meditating with Buddha~" Jingle beamed.

"It really helps with your singing." Buddha advised.

"Oh, thank you." Jingle giggled to that.

Dot sighed out of love after hearing that.

"Blegh! Romance!" Scruffy groaned in disgust.

"Shasta and I were serious for a while..." Rosebud sighed. "Oh, well, it was nice while it lasted."

"And then you and my brother Domino fell in love." Oddball smiled.

"Yeah..." Rosebud replied. "He's a really special guy."

Scruffy just looked like he was going to be sick.

"I'm sorry, guys," Dot told the adults. "Scruffy's allergic to love stories."

"He just hasn't experienced love yet." Mrs. Paws smiled.

"Safe travel, Mrs. Paws?" Collette smiled back.

"Oh, indeed, my dear." Mrs. Paws nodded.

"This is the best Christmas ever!" Dot beamed. "Who cares what that junkyard dog says about Santa Paws?"

"Yeah." Scruffy nodded.

Everyone smiled as this proved to really be a great moment for the dogs since they now knew that Santa Paws was in fact real, and they would never again disbelieve.

* * *

"Do we get some early presents?" Scruffy smirked.

"You'll wait on the 25th like everybody else," Santa Paws smirked back. "No worries though, you've both been good this year."

Scruffy and Dot smiled to that as they were on the nice list which meant they would get presents this year on Christmas. The older pups began to play with Scruffy and Dot.

"So, Budderball, you taking good care of my Oddball?" Patch asked.

"Of course, Patch. Hurting Oddball is the last thing I ever wanna do." Budderball promised.

Oddball began to nuzzle up to Budderball. Budderball nuzzled back to her.

"Did you tell them about how you guys helped Baby New Year and Father Time?" Oddball asked.

"Maybe another time," Collette smiled. "It's almost Christmas, and the New Year will be here soon though."

"That really was a shiny new year." Patch added about that adventure with Rudolph.


	8. Chapter 8

After some time, it was soon time for the Santa Dogs to get back home.

"Do you have to go?" Scruffy pouted.

"Sorry, kiddo, but we gotta get ready for Christmas, but we'll see ya real soon." Hope promised.

"Yay!" Dot and Scruffy smiled.

"Rest easy, little dudes." Hope chuckled.

"Will do, Hope." Scruffy and Dot replied.

"You always were a rebel." Patch teased Hope.

"What can I say? It's who I am." Hope smiled.

"Yeah, yeah," Patch replied. "See you guys later, have a safe trip."

"You know we will." Charity smiled.

* * *

The Santa Dogs soon made their way back to the North Pole.

"So, did you kids enjoy the story and the fun?" Collette smiled.

"We did," Dot smiled back. "Thank you for the story, Daddy."

"No problem." Patch smiled back.

"I guess as long as you know folks, we shouldn't doubt they exist." Scruffy said.

"I suppose you could say that," Patch smiled. "I mean, I didn't think about The Easter Beagle myself until we visited Charlie Brown that one Springtime, and I thought The Easter Chipmunk was the craziest adventure ever."

"What's next?" Scruffy chuckled to his father. "Baby Huey?"

"You never know." Dot smiled at her brother.

"Who is Baby Huey now?" Patch asked the pups with a curious smile.

"He's this _huuuuuge_ duckling!" Scruffy replied. "He's like ten times the size of Budderball!"

"Yeah." Dot smiled.

"Hmm... Interesting..." Patch replied. "I just hope you two have a better Christmas now that you know that Santa Paws and his pups are real."

"Oh, I'm sure we will, Dad." Dot smiled.

"Yeah," Scruffy added. "The best Christmas ever."

Patch and Collette smiled as that made them very happy to hear. This was indeed going to be a Christmas to remember.

* * *

The junkyard dog was soon shown looking for food in an alley and looked around as he heard jingle bells. He soon looked up and around and looked to see the Santa Dogs.

"Merry Christmas!" The Santa Dogs laughed as they rode away.

The junkyard dog's eyes widened as he dropped the bone he found out of his mouth in shock.

The End


End file.
